How many can dance on the head of Joe Pye?
Swallowtails have abandoned sweet pepper,
Their wings ragged, the white spires dry.
Hummingbird moths, instead of a flame
Let this violet blaze draw the eye.
Golden finches touch and go
Resetting the tempo, whenever they fly,
Of August’s waltz, spinning as summer goes by
Holly Gwin © 2010
Holly Gwin wrote Joe Pye Waltz as a solo for hammered dulcimer in 2010. She arranged it as a duet for recorder and guitar—called Christmas Pye for the 2020 winter solstice celebration, Oh, Let the Sun Rise Higher Tomorrow, recorded by CG Strings.
The score reprises the original solo dulcimer version and accompanies the release of a recording of Gwin on dulcimer made in December 2021.
Holly studied dulcimer with Maggie Sansone and Karen Ashbrook, and composes and arranges music in her studio near Annapolis, Maryland. She formerly worked as general counsel for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The cover design was created by Anne Sarber. The artwork, Let It Bee, is by Maryland artist Charlie McKee.